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In recent years, Western business managers have been heeding the

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In recent years, Western business managers have been heeding the [#permalink] In recent years, Western business managers have been heeding the   Updated on: 31 May 2024, 03:57
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     In recent years, Western business managers have been heeding the exhortations of business journalists and academics to move their companies toward long-term, collaborative "strategic partnerships" with their external business partners (e.g., suppliers). The experts' advice comes as a natural reaction to numerous studies conducted during the past decade that compared Japanese production and supply practices with those of the rest of the world. The link between the success of a certain well-known Japanese automaker and its effective management of its suppliers, for example, has led to an unquestioning belief within Western management circles in the value of strategic partnerships. Indeed, in the automobile sector all three United States manufacturers and most of their European competitors have launched programs to reduce their total number of suppliers and move toward having strategic partnerships with a few.

     However, new research concerning supplier relationships in various industries demonstrates that the widespread assumption of Western managers and business consultants that Japanese firms manage their suppliers primarily through strategic partnerships is unjustified. Not only do Japanese firms appear to conduct a far smaller proportion of their business through strategic partnerships than is commonly believed, but they also make extensive use of "market-exchange" relationships, in which either party can turn to the marketplace and shift to different business partners at will, a practice usually associated with Western manufacturers.
Show Spoiler
C
RC00458-01
1) The passage is primarily concerned with

(A) examining economic factors that may have contributed to the success of certain Japanese companies
(B) discussing the relative merits of strategic partnerships as compared with those of market-exchange relationship
(C) challenging the validity of a widely held assumption about how Japanese firms operate
(D) explaining why Western companies have been slow to adopt a particular practice favored by Japanese companies
(E) pointing out certain differences between Japanese and Western supplier relationships

Show Spoiler
E
RC00458-02
2) According to the passage, the advice referred to in the highlighted text was a response to which of the following?

(A) A recent decrease in the number of available suppliers within the United States automobile industry
(B) A debate within Western management circles during the past decade regarding the value of strategic partnerships
(C) The success of certain European automobile manufacturers that have adopted strategic partnerships
(D) An increase in demand over the past decade for automobiles made by Western manufacturers
(E) Research comparing Japanese business practices with those of other nations

Show Spoiler
B
RC00458-03
3) The author mentions "the success of a certain well-known Japanese automaker" most probably in order to

(A) demonstrate some of the possible reasons for the success of a certain business practice
(B) cite a specific case that has convinced Western business experts of the value of a certain business practice
(C) describe specific steps taken by Western automakers that have enabled them to compete more successfully in a global market
(D) introduce a paradox about the effect of a certain business practice in Japan
(E) indicate the need for Western managers to change their relationships with their external business partners

Show Spoiler
E
4) Which of the following is most clearly an example of the practice referred to in the last sentence of the passage?

(A) A department store chain that employs a single buyer to procure all the small appliances to be sold in its stores
(B) An automobile manufacturer that has used the same supplier of a particular axle component for several years in a row
(C) A hospital that contracts only with union personnel to staff its nonmedical positions
(D) A municipal government that decides to cancel its contract with a waste disposal company and instead hire its own staff to perform that function
(E) A corporation that changes the food-service supplier for its corporate headquarters several times over a five-year period as part of a cost-cutting campaign.

Show Spoiler
D
RC00458-05
5) Which of the following is cited in the passage as evidence supporting the author's claim about what the new research referred to in line 20 demonstrates?

(A) The belief within Western management circles regarding the extent to which Japanese firms rely on strategic partnerships
(B) The surprising number of European and United States businesses that have strategic partnerships with their suppliers
(C) The response of Western automobile manufacturers to the advice that they adopt strategic partnerships with their suppliers
(D) The prevalence of “market-exchange” relationships between Japanese firms and their suppliers
(E) The success of a particular Japanese automobile manufacturer that favors strategic partnerships with its suppliers

­
ShowHide Answer Question #1
Official Answer
C
ShowHide Answer Question #2
Official Answer
E
ShowHide Answer Question #3
Official Answer
B
ShowHide Answer Question #4
Official Answer
E
ShowHide Answer Question #5
Official Answer
D

Originally posted by Lucky2783 on 24 Mar 2015, 01:54.
Last edited by Bunuel on 31 May 2024, 03:57, edited 10 times in total.
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Re: In recent years, Western business managers have been heeding the [#permalink] In recent years, Western business managers have been heeding the   25 Oct 2017, 18:04
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Quote:
1) The passage is primarily concerned with
A. examining economic factors that may have contributed to the success of certain Japanese companies
B. discussing the relative merits of strategic partnerships as compared with those of market-exchange relationship
C. challenging the validity of a widely held assumption about how Japanese firms operate
D. explaining why Western companies have been slow to adopt a particular practice favored by Japanese companies
E. pointing out certain differences between Japanese and Western supplier relationships
SR23
In the main idea question, the validity of the assumption is challenged only in the last paragraph. Although other options are not even related, I am not understanding how to tackle such type of questions. I had crossed this option as it only pertained to the 2nd paragraph.
As discussed in the Ultimate RC Guide for Beginners, your first job when you read an RC passage is to understand the structure of the author’s overall argument and WHY the author has written each part of the passage.

After reading the first paragraph, stop and ask yourself WHY the author has written the paragraph. In this case, the author wants us to know that Western management circles (WMCs) have recently embraced strategic partnerships because of recent studies of Japanese production and supply practices.

After reading the second paragraph, again, stop and ask yourself WHY the author has written the paragraph. Here, the author tells us that new research (i.e. newer than the studies referred to in the first paragraph) suggests that WMCs have made an unjustified assumption.

So the first paragraph tells us how recent studies affected the thinking of WMCs, and the second paragraph tells us how their thinking may have been flawed.

Was the purpose of the passage simply to tell us about the recent studies and how they impacted WMCs? No... if that were the case, the second paragraph would not be there. Even though the unjustified assumption is only explained in the second paragraph, the first paragraph sets us up for the second paragraph. We need the first paragraph to explain the reasoning of the WMCs before we can be told why their reasoning is flawed (because of the unjustified assumption).

More importantly, if you can confidently eliminate four choices on a GMAT question, then you've found your answer!
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Re: In recent years, Western business managers have been heeding the [#permalink] In recent years, Western business managers have been heeding the   27 Jun 2016, 09:38
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In recent years, Western business managers have been heeding the exhortations of business journalists and academics to move their companies toward long term, collaborative “strategic partnerships” with their external business partners (e.g., suppliers). The experts’ advice comes as a natural reaction to numerous studies conducted during the past decade that compared Japanese production and supply practices with those of the rest of the world. The link between the success of a certain well-known Japanese automaker and its effective management of its suppliers, for example, has led to an unquestioning belief within Western management circles in the value of strategic partnerships. Indeed, in the automobile sector all three United States manufacturers and most of their European competitors have launched programs to reduce their total number of suppliers and move toward having strategic partnerships with a few. However, new research concerning supplier relationships in various industries demonstrates that the widespread assumption of Western managers and business consultants that Japanese firms manage their suppliers primarily through strategic partnerships is unjustified. Not only do Japanese firms appear to conduct a far smaller proportion of their business through strategic partnerships than is commonly believed, but they also make extensive use of “marketexchange” relationships, in which either party can turn to the marketplace and shift to different business partners at will, a practice usually associated with Western manufacturers
1) The passage is primarily concerned with
A. examining economic factors that may have
contributed to the success of certain Japanese
companies
B. discussing the relative merits of strategic
partnerships as compared with those of marketexchange
relationship
C. challenging the validity of a widely held assumption
about how Japanese firms operate
D. explaining why Western companies have been slow
to adopt a particular practice favored by Japanese
companies
E. pointing out certain differences between Japanese
and Western supplier relationships
Show Spoiler
C

2) According to the passage, the advice referred to in the
highlighted text was a response to which of the
following?
A. A recent decrease in the number of available
suppliers within the United States automobile industry
B. A debate within Western management circles during
the past decade regarding the value of strategic
partnerships
C. The success of certain European automobile
manufacturers that have adopted strategic
partnerships
D. An increase in demand over the past decade for
automobiles made by Western manufacturers
E. Research comparing Japanese business practices
with those of other nations
Show Spoiler
E

3) The author mentions “the success of a certain wellknown
Japanese automaker” most probably in order to
A. demonstrate some of the possible reasons for the
success of a certain business practice
B. cite a specific case that has convinced Western
business experts of the value of a certain business
practice
C. describe specific steps taken by Western
automakers that have enabled them to compete more
successfully in a global market
D. introduce a paradox about the effect of a certain
business practice in Japan
E. indicate the need for Western managers to change
their relationships with their external business partners
Show Spoiler
B

4) Which of the following is most clearly an example of
the practice referred to in the last sentence of the
passage?
A. A department store chain that employs a single
buyer to procure all the small appliances to be sold in
its stores
B. An automobile manufacturer that has used the
same supplier of a particular axle component for
several years in a row
C. A hospital that contracts only with union personnel
to staff its nonmedical positions
D. A municipal government that decides to cancel its
contract with a waste disposal company and instead
hire its own staff to perform that function
E. A corporation that changes the food-service supplier
for its corporate headquarters several times over a
five-year period as part of a cost-cutting campaign.
Show Spoiler
E



3C 1W.
Not satisfied with the 4th Question ans .
Can anybody explain why it is E and not D.




“marketexchange” relationships, in which either party can turn to the marketplace and shift to different business partners at will, a practice usually associated with Western manufacturers
this means nothing but being able to change the supplier at will at any point in time

A. A department store chain that employs a single buyer to procure all the small appliances to be sold in its stores - Incomplete- Single buyer but for how long?
B. An automobile manufacturer that has used the same supplier of a particular axle component for several years in a row -Contradicts- Single buyer for several years
C. A hospital that contracts only with union personnel to staff its nonmedical positions -Same as A
D. A municipal government that decides to cancel its contract with a waste disposal company and instead hire its own staff to perform that function- Out of scope- Nothing mentioned about intra organisatinal service
E. A corporation that changes the food-service supplier for its corporate headquarters several times over a five-year period as part of a cost-cutting campaign- Change multiple suppliers over a given span- says exactly what is highlighted in red


Hope this helps :)
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Re: In recent years, Western business managers have been heeding the [#permalink] In recent years, Western business managers have been heeding the   19 Oct 2017, 22:36
In the main idea question, the validity of the assumption is challenged only in the last paragraph. Although other options are not even related, I am not understanding how to tackle such type of questions. I had crossed this option as it only pertained to the 2nd paragraph.
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Re: In recent years, Western business managers have been heeding the [#permalink] In recent years, Western business managers have been heeding the   15 Oct 2018, 18:11
rajeshgmat2019
PLease explain the question number 3

rajeshgmat2019

Quote:
3) The author mentions "the success of a certain well-known Japanese automaker" most probably in order to

The Author mentions "the success of a certain well-known Japanese automaker" in para 1 to demonstrate the effectiveness of "strategic partnerships" with their external business partners (a Business practice) to the Western Management circles.

Option B resonates the same and is the correct answer.

Hope this helps!
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Re: In recent years, Western business managers have been heeding the [#permalink] In recent years, Western business managers have been heeding the   08 Nov 2018, 07:41
I got the idea that the most important step of nailing RC is to understand the structure and the main idea(the author's attitude) of the whole passage.
During the first reading, read ONLY views instead of examples.
However, as gmat RC is getting harder, sometimes it is really difficult for me to make a decision about which sentence to read, which not! Since the description has to be understood in order to understand somebody's views.

I'd make a examples:
In recent years, Western business managers have been heeding the exhortations of business journalists and academics to move their companies toward long-term, collaborative "strategic partnerships" with their external business partners(e.g., suppliers). The experts advice comes as a natural reaction to numerous studies conducted during the past decade that compared Japanese production and supply practices with those of the rest of the world. The link between the success of a certain well-known Japanese automaker and its effective management of its suppliers, for example, has led to an unquestioning belief within Western management circles in the value of strategic partnerships. Indeed, in the automobile sector all three United States manufacturers and most of their European competitors have launched programs to reduce their total number of suppliers and move toward having strategic partnerships with a few.

However, new research concerning supplier relationships in various industries demonstrates that the widespread assumption of Western managers and business consultants that Japanese firms manage their suppliers primarily through strategic partnerships is unjustified. Not only do Japanese firms appear to conduct a far smaller proportion of their business through strategic partnerships than is commonly believed, but they also make extensive use of market-exchange relationships, in which either party can turn to the marketplace and shift to different business partners at will, a practice usually associated with Western manufacturers.

Which of the following is cited in the passage as evidence supporting the author`s claim about what the new research referred to in line 20(see highlighted text) demonstrates?(first reading this question, what the hell is ABCDE talking about...none of them is similar to what I understand..)
A The belief within Western management circles regarding the extent to which Japanese firms rely on strategic partnerships
B The surprising number of European and United States businesses that have strategic partnerships with their suppliers
C The response of Western automobile manufacturers to the advice that they adopt strategic partnerships with their suppliers
D The prevalence of "market‐exchange" relationships between Japanese firms and their suppliers
E The success of a particular Japanese automobile manufacturer that favors strategic partnerships with its suppliers

Although it is clear that a view has been questioned from the big "HOWEVER", it is still difficult for me to choose what to read for the first time. Also, some description is vague and indirect, it takes me a lot of time to understand what the author is trying to talk about.

So, I guess I really should understand each views presented in the article during my first time reading! Even if I couldn't understand the sentence for the first time, I should repeat reading it until I get it and move on to next...
(I realized just moving my eyes from line to line and getting nothing in my mind are really annoying, I couldn't barely understand the DETAILED QUESTIONS)

Also, I really have a Nemo's memory,
For some really clarified structure, such as:
paragraph1
A view, why the view is held by many people, however, the view has two limitations.. There are two opposing views about how to solve the limitations
paragraph2
A new research justifies that one of the opposing view is correct.. how the study is conducted...

OK, I got the structure, and I understand all the first paragraph is talking about(everything!!)
but I could not remember which two limitations are...When I saw a question about it...I have to go back and find and read again..
However, if I DO NOT understand what the two opposing views are talking about, I could not understand the next paragraph is talking about right??
So... I really do not know how to solve it

For a non-native speaker like me, it is already difficult to understand the passage(so many long and complex sentences) in a short time, there is a huge GAP between understanding the passage and getting right on questions!!!

Sometimes I wonder, what the hell is the question talking about? or what the hell do those ABCDE mean(sometimes they look long and complex)...
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Re: In recent years, Western business managers have been heeding the [#permalink] In recent years, Western business managers have been heeding the   08 Nov 2018, 20:15
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Hi Rebekah,

I’m glad you reached out, and I’m happy to help. So, you actually answered your own question when you said, “So, I guess I really should understand each view presented in the article during my first time reading! Even if I couldn't understand the sentence for the first time, I should repeat reading it until I get it and move on to next…” Although it may seem obvious, you are 100% correct in saying that you must understand what you are reading in one sentence prior to moving to the next. After all, if you rushed through a passage without fully (or even partially) understanding what you read, then how could you be expected to correctly answer questions based on the passage, right?

When reading an RC passage, take your time and learn to understand exactly what is being said, reading one sentence at a time or even one word at a time, if necessary. There is no way around this work. You have to learn to comprehend what you are reading. Your goal should be to take all the time you need to understand exactly what is being said and arrive at the correct answer. If you can learn to get correct answers taking your time, you can learn to speed up. Answering questions is like any task: The more times you do it carefully and successfully, the faster you become at doing it carefully and successfully.

Regarding what you remember from the passage after reading, you are not expected to have the minute details memorized, but rather you simply need to have enough of an understanding of the passage to know where to find those details. Thus, I don’t think there is anything wrong with referring back to the passage to pull out key details and answer questions. For now, make it your goal to understand what a passage is about, and as you get better at that, you can then start working on speed.

If you have any further questions, please reach out.

Good luck!
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Re: In recent years, Western business managers have been heeding the [#permalink] In recent years, Western business managers have been heeding the   15 Nov 2018, 00:59
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can someone help with n.5?
I'm struggling between A and D
I think what A means is the paraphrase of the "Not only do Japanese firms appear to conduct a far smaller proportion of their business through strategic partnerships than is commonly believed,", so why not A?
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Re: In recent years, Western business managers have been heeding the [#permalink] In recent years, Western business managers have been heeding the   18 Nov 2018, 01:35
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why in the Q 3? E is wrong.

Expecting some better explanation though I choose B as my answer.

Regards


Hi Rinkumaa4

If you continue reading the last two lines of the first paragraph , you will notice that the strategy has already been adopted now so we can eliminate option E as it say they need to change their strategy. Also the second last line says "unquestioning belief within Western management circles in the value of strategic partnerships" , this clearly suggests a beleif that has made the West to change its business practice.
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Re: In recent years, Western business managers have been heeding the [#permalink] In recent years, Western business managers have been heeding the   29 Nov 2018, 06:32
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Rebekah
can someone help with n.5?
I'm struggling between A and D
I think what A means is the paraphrase of the "Not only do Japanese firms appear to conduct a far smaller proportion of their business through strategic partnerships than is commonly believed,", so why not A?

Happy to help. Actually answer A is the exact opposite of the right answer. The correct answer should have been " the extent to which Japanese firms rely on strategic partnerships"...What made the answer choice wrong is the first half " The belief within Western management circles "...The belief was the exact opposite of the finding regarding the extent of reliance on strategic partnership.Thus the answer is wrong.
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Re: In recent years, Western business managers have been heeding the [#permalink] In recent years, Western business managers have been heeding the   20 Dec 2018, 08:10
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for easy question, we need prethink the answer before reading the answer choices. we can see a match and the job is done. but for the hard questions, prethinking helps us eliminate just 2 or 3 answer choices. for the last answer choice, POE (power of elimination) only works. POE permit us to realize the wrong answer choices which are close the the correct one. POE is powerfull in that it helps us realize the wrong answer choices which is wrong in only 1 or 2 words.

so, we prethink and we use POE. when we are stuck, think of POE.

after reading the question, the first natural action we do is prethinking the answer. but remember this works only for easy questions. if we are stuck, try to use POE.

many passages in gmat are easy to understand but their questions are hard. in this case, gmat want to test our ability to infer and this passage is called infering focused. process of infering is we need to infer an information similar to information in the correct answer from an information/a sentence in the passage. infering is not hard bur for infering fucused questions, prethinking dose not work because the infered information can not be prethought. only POE works in this case.
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Re: In recent years, Western business managers have been heeding the [#permalink] In recent years, Western business managers have been heeding the   12 Feb 2019, 14:18
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AlN
Can some one please tell me the explanation of Qn 4. I picked D
Question 4 asks us to find an example of "the practice referred to in the last sentence of the passage," so let's take another look at that sentence:
Quote:
Not only do Japanese firms appear to conduct a far smaller proportion of their business through strategic partnerships than is commonly believed, but they also make extensive use of “market-exchange” relationships, in which either party can turn to the marketplace and shift to different business partners at will, a practice usually associated with Western manufacturers
In this sentence, the author contrasts strategic partnerships with the practice of "market-exchange" relationships. In this practice, "either party can turn to the marketplace and shift to different business partners at will."

Let's apply this information to each answer choice:
Quote:
A. A department store chain that employs a single buyer to procure all the small appliances to be sold in its stores
The department store chain is employing a single buyer rather than shifting to different business partners. This is clearly not an example of a market-exchange relationship, so (A) is out.

Quote:
B. An automobile manufacturer that has used the same supplier of a particular axle component for several years in a row
Again, this manufacturer is using one supplier rather than shifting to different business partners. Eliminate (B).

Quote:
C. A hospital that contracts only with union personnel to staff its nonmedical positions
Contracting only union personnel is not a clear example of turning to the marketplace or shifting business partners at will. (C) is out.

Quote:
D. A municipal government that decides to cancel its contract with a waste disposal company and instead hire its own staff to perform that function
In this statement the municipal government cancels its contract with a partner, but it does not "turn to the marketplace" or "shift to different business partners." Instead, it decides to "hire its own staff to perform that function." Because the municipal government finds an internal solution in this scenario, this is not a good example of a market-exchange relationship. Answer choice (D) is out.

Now take another look at answer choice (E):
Quote:
E. A corporation that changes the food-service supplier for its corporate headquarters several times over a five-year period as part of a cost-cutting campaign.

Here, the corporation changes one supplier for another several times in order to cut costs. This is a clear example of "turn[ing] to the marketplace and shift[ing] to different business partners at will." (E) is the correct choice for question 4.

I hope that helps!
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Re: In recent years, Western business managers have been heeding the [#permalink] In recent years, Western business managers have been heeding the   25 Feb 2019, 03:50
GMATNinja
How is D a better answer than E for Q.4?
Please shed your thoughts..
Thanks in advance
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Re: In recent years, Western business managers have been heeding the [#permalink] In recent years, Western business managers have been heeding the   11 Mar 2019, 03:51
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Debashis Roy
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How is D a better answer than E for Q.4?
Please shed your thoughts..
Thanks in advance
(E) is the correct answer for question 4. Please see this post and let us know if it doesn't resolve your doubts.
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Rupesh1Nonly
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Re: In recent years, Western business managers have been heeding the [#permalink] In recent years, Western business managers have been heeding the   12 Mar 2019, 00:31
Debashis Roy
GMATNinja
How is D a better answer than E for Q.4?
Please shed your thoughts..
Thanks in advance


Old research: strategic partnership means fewer suppliers.
New Research: Japanese Change strategic partnership frequently

E stands against the new research.

Hope It Helps!
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Re: In recent years, Western business managers have been heeding the [#permalink] In recent years, Western business managers have been heeding the   09 Jun 2019, 07:16
Rebekah
can someone help with n.5?
I'm struggling between A and D
I think what A means is the paraphrase of the "Not only do Japanese firms appear to conduct a far smaller proportion of their business through strategic partnerships than is commonly believed,", so why not A?

The question is asking for the evidence to support 'new research' but option A isn't an evidence that supports it, rather option D is the right answer.
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Re: In recent years, Western business managers have been heeding the [#permalink] In recent years, Western business managers have been heeding the   08 Sep 2019, 04:21
Rebekah
can someone help with n.5?
I'm struggling between A and D
I think what A means is the paraphrase of the "Not only do Japanese firms appear to conduct a far smaller proportion of their business through strategic partnerships than is commonly believed,", so why not A?


It is quite simple. Option A is the claim (almost close) that the author makes and Option D is the evidence that he uses. A is a typical GMAT style trap choice.

I hope this helps!
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Re: In recent years, Western business managers have been heeding the [#permalink] In recent years, Western business managers have been heeding the   02 Feb 2020, 22:26
Somebody Please help with Ques 1.
I chose E as answer thinking that passage discussed about supplier relationships in Japanese and Western manufacturers.
Didn't get it.
Please clarify.
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Re: In recent years, Western business managers have been heeding the [#permalink] In recent years, Western business managers have been heeding the   03 Feb 2020, 04:36
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fauji
Somebody Please help with Ques 1.
I chose E as answer thinking that passage discussed about supplier relationships in Japanese and Western manufacturers.
Didn't get it.
Please clarify.

Official Explanation

1) The passage is primarily concerned with

Difficulty Level: Medium

Main idea question

Explanation

This question asks fr an assessment of what the passage as a whole is doing. The passage discusses how Western business managers have been following the advice of academics and journalists to pursue strategic partnerships with their suppliers. The advice is based on studies comparing Japanese production and supply practices with those of the rest of the world. Newer research, however, indicates that Japanese practices actually differ from those indicated in the earlier studies and are not significantly different from practices associated with Western manufacturers.

A. The passage is not primarily concerned with economic factors contributing to the success of Japanese companies, but rather with whether Japanese relationships with suppliers confirm to the practices recently adopted by Western business manufacturers.

B. Although the passage discusses strategic partnerships and market-exchange relationships, it does not discuss their relative merits.

C Correct. The passage does question the view promoted by several studies regarding the relationship Japanese firms have with their suppliers.

D. The passage does not indicate that Western companies have been slow to adopt any particular practice favored by Japanese companies.

E. Rather than pointing out differences between Japanese and Western supplier relationships, it actually suggests that they are more similar than generally realized.

The correct answer is C

Hope it helps
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Re: In recent years, Western business managers have been heeding the [#permalink] In recent years, Western business managers have been heeding the   07 Mar 2020, 18:58
In Q4, I dont get how E is better than D.
Experts please help.
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Re: In recent years, Western business managers have been heeding the [#permalink]
07 Mar 2020, 18:58
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